I Can Change The World Because
We are visiting family near D.C. this week, so we took the opportunity to go to the National Children's Museum. Our 18-month-old was limited on what he could take advantage of, but it is a massive facility with lots of learning-based toys and games to play with. It isn't free like the Smithsonian's, but I think it was worth the price we paid, especially to escape the brutal heat.
One of the exhibits was from the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, and math) spotlight sponsored by the children's museum itself. It had a big sentence that read, "I can change the world because I am..." and then there was a list of adjectives for the kids to fill in the blank.
So what do you think? How can you change the world? Let's fill in the blank for ourselves. I can change the world because I am...
● Observant
● Clever
● A Learner
● Determined
● Courageous
● Inquisitive
● Powerful
● Adventurous
● Curious
● Imaginative
● Open-minded
● Brave
● A Leader
● Caring
● Creative
● ???
I love this display. It covers a wide variety of skills and strengths. I think we all have a little bit of a desire to save the world. We've had it since we were young, and we often get less hopeful as we get older. The world gets a lot bigger and badder, so how are we as an individual supposed to make a difference?
When my husband came back from deployment, he had a strong desire to save the planet through eco-friendly practices. I was very hesitant to make changes to our lives. There was undoubtedly a sense that I didn't want to change my old habits because they'd gotten me this far. However, the more significant reason was that I didn't see how swapping our plastic grocery bags or composting would make any real difference since it isn't necessarily the individual who needs to make changes to save the planet. Yes, there is power in numbers, but from my bubble, I didn't see any numbers.
I think we need to shift our perspective more inward, though. Yes, the world can be big and bad, but it can also be small and beautiful. The longer I am alive, the smaller the world feels. My dad was at a car dealership last week, and the salesman ended up being the son of the family that sold their house to my dad's family when they moved to North Carolina. My dad and this guy actually had the same room in that house. That's a small world. And watching my son share with kids or meeting a friend for lunch that I haven't seen in at least five years is beautiful. There are a lot of bad things happening in the world today, but it was beautiful for me and my family. I'm sure other families had a beautiful day as well. This isn't to say we should ignore the atrocities around us, but we should do whatever we can to recognize the wins and maintain our hope in tomorrow.
Let's focus on our skills and gifts. Let's focus on making our little corner of the world beautiful. We can start in our home, our base, and our town. Sure, if we all start cleaning up our corner of the world, we will have a beautiful one in no time. But even if no one but us does, we have to believe that we are making a difference because we are.
Our dreams are a light for how we can clean up our corner. They give us a path to follow for our family and community. And when we focus on our dreams, it's easier to maintain hope through the process. The reality is that if we don't change the world, who will? I am creating my son's childhood, my marriage, and my life every day. I can let the world decide what the future looks like, or I can put in my input and effort to maybe get a say in the matter. It doesn't matter how much the military decides where we are going, we still fill out our dream sheets every time. And I'll make the most of it if it doesn't go my way, but maybe just maybe, I can do enough to make sure it does.